Abstract

This was a causal-comparative study the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program on middle school student academic achievement and attendance. There were two major research questions, which were presented. They were as follows: Is there a statistically significant interaction among gender (males, females), race/ethnicity (blacks, whites), and group membership (Talented and Gifted, AVID) with respect to Stanford 9-TA Partial Battery Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) achievement total scores after controlling for initial differences in socioeconomic status and, Is there a statistically significant interaction among gender (males, females), race/ethnicity (blacks, whites), and group membership (Talented and Gifted, AVID) with respect to attendance after controlling for initial differences in socioeconomic status? These questions were analyzed using two three way ANCOVAS with 2 x 2 x 2 factorial designs, with a .05 alpha level employed to test for statistical significance. The researcher analyzed standardized testing and attendance data collected on the 1996-1997 eighth-grade student cohort within one mid-sized socioeconomic diverse urban school district. Data were collected on 398 students beginning with the 1994-1995 school year and concluding with the 1996-1997 school year. Data for eighth grade students not enrolled in the Gifted and Talented, or AVID programs for that length of time, neither were used. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, 1995). Threats to the internal and external validity of this study may be that students have relocated or were not present during test administrations and their Stanford 9-TA Partial Battery Achievement Test data were not available. Test data for students neither blacks or whites, or in AVID or the Talented and Gifted programs for the indicated three-year span were not analyzed. Students missing attendance data were also not included. The creators of AVID, profess that students participating in the AVID program will attend school and achieve academically as well as other groups of children. The researcher's analyses of the data does not substantiate this claim. The data yielded that AVID students produced lower achievement scores on the Partial Battery of the Stanford 9-TA Achievement Test in all areas. It was also found that gender, race/ethnicity and group membership were significant factors.